Every year, the BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna dealership with its 9,000 square meter showroom puts on a show. More than 1,000 visitors came to view the 2011 model ranges for the first time, including the new K1600GT and GTL six-cylinder tourers, the R1200R standard and Classic roadsters, the G650GS single-cylinder enduro and the new Husqvarna SM511 road-legal Supermoto machine.

Despite cold, unsettled weather in Munich, plenty of test rides left the BMW corporate-owned dealership. Inside, spectators were kept warm with hot food and performances by the “danceworx alexandra martens*style in motion team,” who presented apparel from the 2011 BMW Motorrad Style collection. The Husqvarna brand is also part of this dealership and the dance troupe had a separate fashion show for the two Husqvarna clothing lines on display.

Children were also kept busy (leaving parents free to browse the displays) with a range of activities that included face-painting, kiddies’ bikes, a TV corner and even hand painting a full-size BMW K1300GT that now looks like an Art Bike and will remain on display in the showroom for several weeks.

Representatives from the German GS Trophy team set up a special adventure motorcycling area and presented pictures about their experiences at last November’s GS Trophy event in South Africa. This time, they didn’t have to travel so far, as two of the team (Dirk Remmel and Werner Modelmann) actually work in the Motorrad Zentrum dealership. In fact, Werner Modelmann also performed stunt shows throughout the day on a G650Xchallenge.

Part of the store’s workshops were given over to a big catering operation, ensuring that nobody went hungry, while on the workbenches, aspiring mechanics and technicians had the opportunity to test their skills in changing the wheel and repairing the tire of a K1300S against the clock.

In the basement of the building, a studio had been created, where a special ‘vintage’ photo-shoot was taking place with the R1200R Classic. Using an evocative backdrop, photographer Betty Sommerer took pictures of roadster fans on this latest ‘classic’ boxer-twin from BMW Motorrad. Then, using Photoshop, she was able to retouch the pictures to produce a vintage effect and create the illusion of taking both the motorcycle and motorcyclist back in time.

Commenting after the long day, Director of the BMW Motorcycle Centre in Munich Michael Sommer said, “The dancers were incredibly professional and very well prepared, we had cartoonists who made ‘caricatures’ of people on their choice of BMW bike, a cap embroidery service, and great music from Janine Hoffmann and her band. We were also very proud of the ‘vintage’ motorcycle shoot, which was an incredible success. In fact, all the pictures that were taken were published on our Facebook site within an hour, so people could log on and see the results and share them with friends. All in all, it was a busy day for our team, but well worth all the effort.”